Dasyprocta leporina
Silhouette: Margot Michaud · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta leporina), also known as the golden-rumped agouti, orange-rumped agouti or Brazilian agouti, is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. It is native to northeastern South America, mainly in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, northeastern Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. It has also been introduced to Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Grenada, and Dominica.
Despite the alternative name Brazilian agouti, it is neither the only nor the most widespread species of agouti in Brazil. In Brazil all agoutis are often called "cutia" [kuˈtʃiɐ]. It is found in a wide range of forests, including rainforest and secondary forest.
The red-rumped agouti weighs about 3 to 6 kilograms (6.6 to 13.2 lb). It is about 48 to 64 cm (19 to 25 in) long. The females are larger than males but otherwise look similar. It is brownish with darker spots on the upper body. The fur becomes more orange as it goes past (going down) the middle area of the animal. The ears are somewhat square in shape. The front feet have four toes and the back have three each. It can be distinguished... Wikipedia →
Recording4:29
Brazil · 2020
© Henry Miller Alexandre · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brownsberg Nature Park | 🇸🇷 Suriname | |
| 2 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 3 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Agouti sighting in Rio de Janeiro on a given day, based on 83 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 5th most-seen of the 15 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Crested Agouti in Rio de Janeiro on a given day, against about 10% in April–May and September, the lowest months. That is one of Rio de Janeiro's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain against 230 mm in December.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crested Agouti sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Crested Agouti sightings, Rio de Janeiro ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Manaus (Brazil, about 40%), Belém (Brazil, about 40%) and Valencia (Venezuela, about 30%).
Same order: Rodentia
The closest relatives of the Crested Agouti that you can see in Rio de Janeiro (order Rodentia, Rodents) are Capybara (about 30%), Paraguaian Hairy Dwarf Porcupine (about 10%) and Spotted Paca (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crested Agouti is recorded against all the mammals logged in Rio de Janeiro (83 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
